Micro-credential Maturity Model€¦ · (Credential Engine 2019) – the count will be far higher...

Micro-credentialMaturity Model

APRIL 2020 V2

Helping put innovation into education

Table of Contents

OVERVIEW 3MICRO-CREDENTIAL MATURITY MODEL 4

STAGES 4FACETS 5MODEL 7SAMPLE SCENARIOS 8CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS 10

ABOUT EDALEX 11ABOUT CREDENTIALATE 11FEEDBACK AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 12REFERENCES 12

Overview

credentialate.com© Edalex 2020 3

Traditional education models are under pressure from a number of different forces, including shiftinglearner and industry expectations, alternate models such as Massive Open Online Courses(MOOCs), the rise of non-traditional education providers, as well as innovation from existingvocational and higher education providers. Reflecting these pressures, 42% of Australian universitygraduates surveyed believe their degree must be transformed to keep pace with digital changes inthe workplace (EY 2018). Aligning with that student perception, 45% of employers surveyed across43 countries indicated an inability to find candidates with the desired skills (Manpower Group 2018).

The industry is increasingly focused on delivering targeted skills-based education, including helpingdevelop a range of desired attributes in their graduates. Micro-credentials are well-suited to supportthis initiative. While micro-credentials have existed for a number of years, recent regulatory, technicaland other changes are supporting wider adoption. Examples include the incorporation of micro-credentials into government qualification frameworks in New Zealand and Australia, as well asincreasing adoption of a transparent, international Credential Registry (EDUCAUSE 2018) thatincorporates micro-credentials. In the US alone, 191,459 unique digital badges have been identified(Credential Engine 2019) – the count will be far higher globally. Employers are increasingly open toonline credentials, with 61% of survey respondents viewing online credentials generally equal to atraditional degree – up from 48% just 4 years earlier (Gallagher 2018).

Technology provides a strong underpinning to micro-credentials, but ultimately should serve toenable the broader micro-credential offering, rather than as a core focus. Configuring and issuingdigital badges can be done in a matter of minutes – for free. While that power is immense, it alsopresents a strong risk of diminishing an institutional brand, as well as confusing learners andemployers, if appropriate forethought and planning are not undertaken.

Indeed, simply issuing micro-credentials is not enough. “Convincing learners and particularlyemployers of the benefits of micro-credentials, whether validating new or previously acquired skills,and delivering clear value to them, will be key to success for traditional and emergingproviders.” (Oliver 2019). We believe personalised learner evidence is essential for the validation ofmicro-credentials, and have woven it into the Micro-credential Maturity Model.

The Micro-credential Maturity Model is a tool to assess current organisational offerings and exploreorganisational aspirations relating to micro-credentials, and potential steps along the way. It isintended as a tool that should be referred back to periodically to review progress and re-assessgoals. Organisations may look to make incremental changes to an existing micro-credential program,or be in the midst of a strategic re-examination of their micro-credential model and offerings. Wehope the Micro-credential Maturity Model is helpful in both scenarios. We also anticipate evolving themodel itself over time, and welcome your feedback.

Micro-credential Maturity Model

© Edalex 2020 4

The Micro-credential Maturity Model is intended to help organisations explore, assess and targetvarious aspects of micro-credential deployments. The two axes of the model are Stages and Facets.

StagesThe Micro-credential Maturity Model segments micro-credential deployments into 5 phases, rangingfrom initial exploratory experiments through to an immersive, integrated experience. During anassessment of an organisation, we typically map individual facet components across a range ofstages. This is not intended as a prescriptive model, expecting organisations to proceedsystematically and unilaterally from one phase to the next. Instead, the importance and value of eachfacet will vary by each institution and the targeted outcomes.

The Micro-credential Maturity Model defines 5 stages of micro-credential deployments:

Exploratory Focused Launch Expansion Enterprise Immersive

Exploratory: Small, manual pilot/sFocused Launch: More robust & targetedExpansion: Expanded cohort, increasing evidenceEnterprise: Integrated solution across multiple sub-organisationsImmersive: Evidence-rich, seamless pathways, supporting entire organisation

Additional details on the stages:

Exploratory: This phase typically consists of one or more pilots initiated across an organisation.There may be little to no coordination between these pilots, often resulting in different learnerexperiences, badge imagery and badge provider. There often is no assessment – badges may beissued to reflect completion of the course. This phase can provide a great deal of important feedbackto incorporate into subsequent phases. However, decisions made during this phase (e.g., badgedesign, technology platforms) may organically flow into subsequent phases rather than as strategicdecisions. A considered approach should be adopted in the planning of subsequent phases.

Focused Launch: This phase takes a more structured approach to micro-credentials, but still for ahighly targeted cohort and instruction area. A more rigorous assessment model (e.g., rubrics) may beintroduced.

Expansion: The expansion phase typically represents a second or later iteration of micro-credentials, with a larger scope: broader audience, cohort size, and organisational unit (e.g., entireschool/faculty/study area).

Enterprise: Institution-wide deployment, incorporating integrated curriculum and learning pathways,and quantitative and qualitative evidence based on authentic assessment. Greater emphasis on asmooth learner experience across their entire engagement with the institution, powered by moreadvanced technological architecture

Immersive: Extending from the enterprise phase with greater flexibility for the learner, enhancedfeedback cycles, automation of processes, as well as enhanced analytics.

Note: it is not imperative or necessarily relevant for each institution to strive towards the Immersivestage in each facet – that ultimately is driven by each organisation’s requirements and goals.Contextualising activity under desired outcomes can help identify critical facets to advance.

credentialate.com

© Edalex 2020 5

FacetsAlong the vertical axis of the Micro-credential Maturity Model, important factors aresegmented into 7 facets:

Purpose: Reflects the organisational business drivers for the micro credentialprogram

Scope: Explores the recognition the micro-credentials are intended to provide, as wellas the target audience

Delivery: Explores the delivery mode and level of instructor engagement in thedelivery

Systems & Analytics: Based on all the facets, explores the impact on systemsintegration to deliver the experience and analytics to surface additional insights intolearner performance

Curriculum: Considerations include the selection/approval process for micro-credentials to be taught, source of instructional materials, and the stackability of themicro-credentials

Assessment: Reflects how learners in micro-credentials are assessed: from not at all,up through authentic assessment

Learner Lifecycle: Explores the learners’ entire experience with the microcredential,from their initial discovery of the micro-credential through post-completionengagement

The following are additional details on the facets and their sub-facets. Progression for an individual sub-facet may provide greater value to the learner but may introduce greater complexity:

Purpose:Purpose/Business Model: As organisations explore, and then expand, micro-credential programs, it isimportant to clarify their long-term objective(s). While initial pilots may be simply to gain experience withmicro-credentials, a wider range of objectives are likely driving broader initiatives. These include building/enhancing organisational reputation, promotion of organisational offerings, creating new revenue streams,and establishing educational pathways. Ultimately organisations must weigh up costs, benefits as well asdefine what success looks like.

Scope:Target audience: Organisations typically focus one or several audiences for their micro-credentials, suchas those seeking to gain particular skills, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), a certificate or degree, orprofessional development (for internal staff or external learners).

Cohort size: Pilots may have a small, homogeneous set of learners to simplify the on-boarding anddelivery process. Over time, larger more diverse cohorts of learners will amplify the benefits of a micro-credential program.

credentialate.com

© Edalex 2020 6

Delivery:Delivery mode: Pilots may opt for a single delivery mode to streamline the process. The majority of micro-credential offerings will either be blended or purely online.

Instructor engagement: Instructor engagement with students may be non-existent for purely self-pacedonline training up through much more robust engagement, reflecting the integration of multiple supportand engagement channels, often building from those offered to full credential learners.

Systems & Analytics:Integration:What systems will be integrated into a micro-credentialing solution? Options range from usingLMS tools only, to a fully integrated ecosystem leveraging data and processes from a LearningManagement System, Student Management System, badge issuer, and a Micro-credential ManagementPlatform to manage the flow of learner performance evidence, manage the badge issuing lifecycle, andpresenting the personalised evidence to validate the micro-credential.

Analytics:What level of reporting and analytics are in place? How are learner performance trendssurfaced and acted upon? Is data amalgamated from various systems to increase the value and insight ofthe analytics?

Curriculum:Approval process: The process by which a micro-credential is selected and approved for delivery canrange from ad hoc (e.g., seeking volunteers for a pilot) through a rigorous process that incorporates theimpact on broader curriculum, learning pathways and strategic direction for the institution

Micro-credential stackability: Assesses whether micro-credentials are stand-alone or part of a broaderlearning pathway.

Instructional content: Identifies whether existing learning resources are repurposed from other deliverymodes, or custom developed – potentially including the use of instructional designers to maximise thelearning from the micro-credential.

Assessment:Assessment: Identifies the level and type of assessment, ranging from none (badge will be issued baseon completion of the micro-credential) through to authentic assessment validating the learner’sfundamental mastery of the related skills.

Learner evidence: A critical component is the learner evidence that is attached the micro-credential.Those lacking assessment are likely to provide little to no evidence, whereas more in-depth micro-credentials may attach both qualitative and quantitative evidence to the learner’s badge.

Learner lifecycle:Discovery by learner: Reflects how the learner becomes aware of the micro-credential.

Enrolment: Details how the learner enrols in the micro-credential, from manually up through a streamlineddigital process

Learner support: The level of support provided to the student by the institution

Learner achievement approval: Explores how systematic the assessment of the learners’ achievement ofmastery is, and processes around the generation of the micro-credential – ranging from manual toautomated with safety-checks.

Feedback mechanism: References what mechanism(s) – if any – are used to solicit feedback from thelearners

Micro-credential attainment promotion:What is the strategy around social media and other systemplacement of achieved micro-credentials to enable the learner to broadcast their successful achievement,as well as gain positive placement of the institution and micro-credential.

Post-completion engagement:What follow-up engagement strategies are in place after the learnercompletes the micro-credential?

credentialate.com

© Edalex 2020 7

Model

The Micro-credential Maturity Model is presented below. For each sub-facet, we recommend youidentify (tick check box) your organisation’s current state, and then desired progression across futureimplementation phases.

The following examples demonstrate usage of the Micro-credential Maturity Model for twohypothetical criteria.

credentialate.com

Purpose

Purpose/Businessmodel

Delivery

Scope

Systems & Analytics

Target Audience

Cohort size

Delivery mode

Instructor engagement

Integration

Analytics

Preliminaryresearch

or investigation

1 of: reputation,promotion,revenue orpathway

1+ of: reputation,promotion,revenue orpathway


Multiple of:reputation,promotion,

revenue, and/orpathway

One of:- Skills- RPL

- Certificate/diploma/degree- Post-graduate

- CPD- Staff PD



- CPD- Staff PD

1 or more of:- Skills- RPL


- CPD- Staff PD



- CPD- Staff PD

Multiple of:- Skills- RPL


- CPD- Staff PD

Small TargetedFaculty/school/

study area

1+ Faculty/school/

study areaInstitution-wide

Face-to-faceor online

Variable Blended Blended Blended

Limited Variable Variable Integrated Integrated

Badge issuer,LMS

Badge issuer,LMS

Micro-credential

managementplatform, badgeissuer, LMS, SMS

Micro-credential


Micro-credential

managementplatform, badgeissuer, LMS, SMS,

analytics

Exploratory FocusedLaunch

Expansion Enterprise Immersive

None Limited Basic Reportingand visualisations

Integratedreporting andvisualisations

Curriculum

Assessment

Approval process

Micro-credentialstackability

Instructionalcontent

Systematicquality assurance

Assessment

Learner evidence

Discovery by learner

Enrolment

Learner Lifecycle

Learner support

Learner achievementapproval

Feedback mechanism

Micro-credentialattainmentpromotion

Post-completionengagement

Ad hoc Ad hoc Structured StructuredStructured,strategic, with

industry & studentinput

Standalone Standalone Some stackabilityStructuredpathways

Flexiblepathways &

proactive learnerguidance

Re-use ofexisting content


Somere-use, somebespoke


Somere-use

(with ID), somebespoke

None NonePeriodicreview ofcurriculum

Regularcurriculum review

Integrated& systematicacademicgovernance

None orlimited

Limited,quantitative

Variable Authenticassessment

Authenticassessment

None orgeneric


Quantitativeand qualitative



Manual, requestfor participation

Direct contact,limited online

Online Online Online, withtargeted promotion

Manual Manual orpartially online

Online Streamlined Streamlined

Limited Limited Specificsupport

Integratedwith institutionsupport


Manual ManualSystematised,with bulkprocessing

Automatedwith manualchecks

Automated,including alerts

None Informal Survey Survey,some integration

Integratedinto program

None or LMS LMS,LinkedIn

LMS,LinkedIn

LMS,LinkedIn, othersocial media


None None orlimited

LimitedAligned

with institutionprocesses

Integratedwith pathways

Sample Scenarios - Example 1: Exploratory PilotA school within an institution has decided to launch a micro-credential pilot. They are focusing on afew short courses, in order to gain initial experience with micro-credentials. As depicted in the modelbelow with tan highlights, they mostly fall within the exploratory category across the sub-facets.There are notable areas, such as blended delivery, instructor engagement, discovery by learner andfeedback mechanism where they are incorporating more advanced approaches.

© Edalex 2020 8 credentialate.com

LEGENDCurrent

Purpose


Delivery

Scope

Systems & Analytics

Target Audience

Cohort size

Delivery mode


Integration

Analytics

Preliminaryresearch

or investigation








- CPD- Staff PD



- CPD- Staff PD



- CPD- Staff PD



- CPD- Staff PD



- CPD- Staff PD

Small TargetedFaculty/school/

study area

1+ Faculty/school/

study areaInstitution-wide




Badge issuer,LMS

Badge issuer,LMS

Micro-credential


Micro-credential


Micro-credential

managementplatform, badgeissuer, LMS, SMS,

analytics





Curriculum

Assessment

Approval process




Assessment

Learner evidence


Enrolment

Learner Lifecycle

Learner support


Feedback mechanism






Flexiblepathways &






Somere-use





None orlimited



Authenticassessment

None orgeneric



















LMS,LinkedIn



None None orlimited

LimitedAligned



Sample Scenarios - Example 2: Subsequent ExpansionFollowing several successful micro-credential pilots, an institution has opted to expand their micro-credential program. As depicted below, they plan to migrate most of their sub-facets up to theExpansion phase, as depicted in the green cells. Notably, some sub-facets are remaining as-is, asreflected by the tan, shaded cells: Micro-credential stackability, Delivery mode and Instructorengagement. This may be due to curriculum considerations from the stackability perspective, and areflection of the relatively advanced Delivery model from their pilot phase. They plan to implement aMicro-credential Management Platform, and through that advance to Enterprise Alignment withinstitutional processes and Reporting and visualisations.


Phase 2

Current & Phase 2

(no changes between phases)

LEGEND

Purpose


Delivery

Scope

Systems & Analytics

Target Audience

Cohort size

Delivery mode


Integration

Analytics

Preliminaryresearch

or investigation








- CPD- Staff PD



- CPD- Staff PD



- CPD- Staff PD



- CPD- Staff PD



- CPD- Staff PD

Small TargetedFaculty/school/study area

1+ Faculty/school/study area

Institution-wide




Badge issuer,LMS

Badge issuer,LMS

Micro-credentialmanagementplatform, badgeissuer, LMS, SMS

Micro-credential


Micro-credentialmanagementplatform, badgeissuer, LMS, SMS,

analytics





Curriculum

Assessment

Approval process




Assessment

Learner evidence


Enrolment

Learner Lifecycle

Learner support


Feedback mechanism






Flexiblepathways &






Somere-use





None orlimited



Authenticassessment

None orgeneric



















LMS,LinkedIn



None None orlimited

LimitedAligned



Current

Critical success factorsThe below factors will ultimately come into play with an immersive micro-credential program. Somemay not have a significant impact during an exploratory trial of micro-credentials, but we believe theyshould be considered up front and incorporated into an organisation’s pursuit of a morecomprehensive micro-credential solution.

Engagement with industry and students: Learners and industry, two of the most importantstakeholder groups, often are not consulted during the implementation of micro-credentials –to the detriment of all. The incorporation of their input, including techniques to raise theirawareness of the program and visibility of the desired outcomes, can improve the efficacy of amicro-credential program.

Outcomes focus: It is important to clearly define the desired outcomes from implementing, oradvancing, a micro-credential program. Examples include assisting learners with thetransition into employment, establishing educational milestones that stack into a largercredential, creating an RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) certification program, supportingan industry alliance, experimenting with new educational models, etc. With desired outcomesdefined at the early stages of the project, those outcomes can be used to evaluate thesuccess of the program and guide further evolution.

Validation through evidence: Personalised learner evidence ultimately brings truevalidation, meaning and differentiation to micro-credentials. Given the rapid proliferation ofdigital credentials, employers are seeking meaningful evidence to validate a prospect’ssuitability. We believe a micro-credential model that does not incorporate the assessment,collection, aggregation and display of evidence lacks a critical and sustaining component.

Analytics: The appropriate collection and management of evidence data enablesorganisations to surface important insights on learner performance, potentially touching oncurriculum, instruction models, cohort skills and other considerations.

Executive support: appropriate leadership, resourcing and clearing the path will be requiredfor a successful, transformational deployment of micro-credentials. The rollout of micro-credentials will likely involve breaking down barriers between silos within an organisation,touching on all aspects of the learner experience. While exploratory pilots may be run locally,ultimately some level of centralisation will be required for a truly immersive, meaningful anddefinitive micro-credential solution across an institution.

Effective governance: It is essential to establish and follow effective program governance, inline with your organisational structure and models.

Collaboration: Deploying micro-credentials will require close coordination and collaborationacross many business functions within an organisation. The modular nature of micro-credentials may require a re-think of slow, intensive processes such as marketing, enrolment,learner profile, student aid, course provisioning, term-based vs. rolling admissions andnumerous other areas. The establishment of a cross-functional team is highly recommended.

Tight systems integration: leveraging the data and processes across a range of platformsto support the desired learner experience, balanced against institutional and governmentrequirements.

Phased deployments: Given the far-reaching impact of micro-credentials, the project scopewill have to be actively managed to maintain progress. Phased rollouts are typically employedto decrease time-to-market and incorporate feedback and learnings.

Learning feedback loop: The incorporation of learnings from each phase of a roll-out will beessential in evolving an institution’s micro-credential offerings over time. Key stakeholders,including learners, academic staff, administrative staff and industry, should all be consulted.


© Edalex 2020 11

About EdalexEdalex’s mission is to “help put innovation intoeducation.” To this end, Edalex delivers a range ofservices for the education sector. With deep expertisein the educational technology sector, and strongengagement with local educational institutions,Edalex delivers proven results for both clients andpartners. Edalex offers the micro-credentialing platformCredentialate, is the official Asia Pacific services andsupport provider for the open-source repositoryopenEQUELLA, and is the regional partner forFullMeasure and Interfolio. Edalex team members haveworked with more than 100 organisations across 6continents in support of this mission, focusing oneLearning, digital content management and digitalcredentials. We have extensive experience designing,developing and integrating software.

Learn more at edalex.com

About CredentialateCredentialate is an evidence-based micro-credential management platform (MMP), designed toassess, monitor, promote and validate learners’ attainment of skills. The platform has beendeveloped in close collaboration with a leading Australian university as design partner. With studentperformance evidence at its core, Credentialate is a secure, configurable platform that assesses andtracks attainment of competencies and issues micro-credentials to students together with anaccessible evidence layer to validate achievements.

Key functionality includes:

- Automated harvesting of qualitative and quantitative rubric-basedlearner performance data from Learning ManagementSystems and other data sources

- Assessment of learner mastery of a particular micro-credentialbased on institution-defined criteria, including the ability fortiered badges

- Full lifecycle management of micro-credentials, from pending,issuing, revoking and re-issuing. The badges are seamlesslyissued via integration with leading badge issuing platforms.Credentialate enables centralised, decentralised, or mixedmodels for the approval process. In addition, the approvalprocess can be automated or managed manually.

- Presentation of the learner’s performance in an intuitive,meaningful manner as evidence to validate themicro-credential, based on theComprehensive Learner Record (CLR) standard.

- Creation of various visualisations and reports to surfacetrends and insights, from the institutional level down tothe rubric element level.

- Auditing and tracking of changes to learner micro-credentials.

Learn more at credentialate.com

credentialate.com

www.credentialate.com

www.edalex.com

© Edalex 2020 12

Feedback and acknowledgements

Edalex’s Micro-credential Maturity Model is not intended to be an all-encompassing how-to for micro-credentials. There are a number of excellent resources available that tackle various aspects of micro-credentials – we are happy to point you to additional resources.

We welcome feedback, corrections and additions to the model – we’re learning and sharing our learning along the way as well.Special thanks to Professor Patsie Polly (SFHEA) and her research team from UNSW Sydney for serving as a design partner for Credentialate.

We’d also like to acknowledge the contribution of others to the refinement of this model, especially Beverley Oliver, Emeritus Professor PFHEA ALTF GAICD.

If you’re interested in sharing your current micro-credential status and desired future state – we’d love to connect. Please email us at [email protected]

References

Credential Engine. (2019). Counting U.S. Secondary and Postsecondary Credentials. Credential Engine. Available at https://credentialengine.org/counting-credentials-2019-report/

EDUCAUSE. (2018). The Credential Transparency Description Language.Available at https://library.educause.edu/~/media/files/library/2018/12/eli7163.pdf

EY. (2018). Can the universities of today lead learning for tomorrow? The University of the Future. EY. Available at www.ey.com/au/futureuniversity

Gallagher, Sean. (2018). Educational Credentials Come of Age: A survey on the use and value of educational credentials in hiring. Northeastern University, December 2018.Available at https://www.northeastern.edu/cfhets/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Educational_Credentials_Come_of_Age_2018.pdf

ManpowerGroup. (2018). 2018 Talent shortage survey. ManpowerGroup.Available at http://www.manpowergroup.com/talent-shortage-2018

Oliver, Beverley. (2019). Making micro-credentials work for learners, employers and providers. Melbourne, Victoria: Deakin University.Available at http://dteach.deakin.edu.au/microcredentials/

credentialate.com

Micro-credential Maturity Model€¦ · (Credential Engine 2019) – the count will be far higher...

Documents

Transcript of Micro-credential Maturity Model€¦ · (Credential Engine 2019) – the count will be far higher...